Stress, burnout, abuse deter deputy principals: study

Work stress was believed to have contributed to the suicide of principal Mark Thompson. Photo: Supplied

Assistant principals are reluctant to take up the top jobs at Victorian schools due to long hours and higher levels of stress, burnout and abuse, a new study says.

The research was co-authored by a respected former Melbourne principal, Mark Thompson, who took his own life in 2014 before the project was completed.

Workplace stress and abuse from a student's parent were believed to have had a part in his suicide.

The study surveyed assistant principals in Victoria's north-west, and found an overwhelming majority in almost all age groups said they had no intention of applying to become principal.

Meadowglen Primary School principal Loretta Piazza, who co-authored the study, said the results revealed assistant principals felt a lack of support from the Education Department to handle staff, student and parent problems.

"When we asked why they would not apply for principal jobs, they gave a whole list of things," she said.

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"They see the long hours – 60 and 70-hour weeks – they don't like the abuse copped from parents, students, everyone, and we don't get enough support."

Dr Piazza said the 2014 death of her former colleague, Dr Thompson, came as he was dealing with the stresses of a parent complaint.

He was principal of Eltham Primary School when a parent began accusing him of discrimination against a pupil, Dr Piazza said.

"This was the straw that broke the camel's back," she said.

Matt Thompson, Dr Thompson's son, said his father had suffered from work-related stress.

"My dad was a great educator. His focus all throughout his career was putting students first," he said.

"But he spent, particularly towards the end of his career, so much time dealing with trivial complaints from parents ... I think towards the end it all perhaps got too much for him."

The study found assistant principals aged under 44 were more eager to step up and likely to apply to be school principals than those who were older.

Dr Piazza said this finding raised further wellbeing concerns because younger principals could often be under-experienced and ill-equipped to deal with the pressures of the job.

It comes as a new nationwide study, by the Australian Catholic University, found principals had high job satisfaction but were five times more likely than the wider population to face stress, depression, burnout and threats of violence.

More than 40 per cent of principals said they had been threatened and more than one third reported being bullied, usually by students' parents.

Dr Piazza said the Victorian Education Department must heed the warnings highlighted in the two recent studies, and provide greater support to school leaders.

"A number of senior people at the department don't have an educational background ... they don't know what it's like to be abused by a disgruntled parent, or have your tyres slashed by a student," she said.

"While they have a number of fantastic skills, if they have never worked in schools, they have no understanding of the pressures and the day-to-day issues facing principals."

The Andrews government said it fully supported school principals, and had invested $82 million to roll out 17 regional teams to relieve principals and teachers from administrative burdens so they could focus on students.

"We listened to school principals who said they needed extra support to provide the best support possible to the kids in their care," a government spokesman said.